Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Storming the Court

I've been a part of a few court stormings in my life. The first one (technically on a field, but whatever) was in 2010, when the Wisconsin football team upset top-ranked Ohio State, at night, at Camp Randall. That whole game was incredible. The Badgers, ranked #18 at the time, got a jump start on the game thanks to a kickoff return TD by David Gilreath (a highlight that still gives me chills).

That was the only time I've stormed a playing surface as a fan. The other time I was part of a storming was in 2006, when my high school basketball team snapped a 19-game losing streak with a miraculous win and our fans stormed the court. Also pretty legit.

Something about the way Indiana stormed the court after beating Wisconsin last night bugged me. Sure, the Badgers were 16-0 and the #3 team in the country but...they were only 16-0 and the #3 ranking was a byproduct. The Hoosiers were the better team last night and deserved to win, and proved that they're probably better than their 12-5 record.

IndyStar.com

So what warranted the court storm? I'm not sure. If Indiana wants to measure themselves against the top programs in the country like Duke, UCLA, UNC, etc. (which historically, they probably should), shouldn't they be above storming the court? I know Wisconsin has had the Hoosiers' number as of recent, but should there be the expectation that they're supposed to win still?

When Indiana upset #1 ranked Kentucky on a last second 3 in December of 2011? Absolutely. It was in the moment, on a buzzer beater, against THE top ranked team in the country? The Hoosiers were in control during the late stages of the game, meaning there wasn't nearly the same amount of drama.

I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill here, but it bugged me. And I'm not making excuses about why the Badgers lost and I'm trying not to sound bitter. It was a well-fought, much deserved win for Indiana, but I'm not sure it warranted a court storm. I think those should be reserved for very rare occasion. A mid-January home win against a conference opponent is not that occasion.